Beverley Lass

273 cases in UK now

Loo roll .. the new gold .. in times of crisis !

Think that video is from Sydney, Australia.

Coronavirus patient, 62, is ‘successfully treated’ with HIV drug in Spain in fresh hope for a cure – The Sun WWW.THESUN.CO.UK A SPANISH coronavirus patient has recovered after being treated with an HIV and multiple sclerosis drug. Miguel Angel Benitez, 62, made a full recovery at the... This was in the Sun online paper a couple of days ago. I don't know if its truly hopeful.

Prof Whitty (CMO) told MPs: Older people or the already ill may soon be told to avoid crowded places to avoid infection This could force individual MPs and particularly Lords - average age 70 - to avoid Parliament The virus can stay on handrails on public transport for up to 72 hours Up to 80% of Brits may get the virus, but probably fewer (he repeated) 1% of those infected are expected to die, but that's an 'upper limit' (he repeated) There will likely be a 'long period' between an epidemic being declared and its peak 'A year would be lucky' to get a vaccine despite clinical trials in the coming months Authorities WILL give regular updates on case locations after a row, but not 'street level' data

The World Health Organisation has told people aged over 60 to avoid crowded areas and public transport Drastic warning also urged people over 60 to skip routine appointments at doctors' surgeries and hospitals https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8060407/Health-chiefs-urge-60s-avoid-crowds-coronavirus-panic-spreads.html * This advice doesn't match the news that retired Doctors might well be asked to return to work. ? I know the medics would wear full protective clothing however.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/will-coronavirus-slow-down-in-the-summer_uk_5e594a42c5b6010221102830?utm_hp_ref=uk-homepage *Will the virus slow down in warmer months A snippet from the above linked article .. "These coronaviruses aren’t the same, but they do share a handful of similarities. The makeup of Covid-19 is about a 79% match to Sars-CoV and a 50% match to Mers, so we can potentially learn a thing or two from how those outbreaks played out. Looking back at Sars, one study identified an 18-fold increase of infections in colder temps compared to warmer days. Another report looked at how the virus behaved in different environments and found that its viability rapidly declined at higher temperatures and humidity levels. The researchers found the SARS virus became increasingly inactivated as temperatures and humidity rose. Similarly to Sars, Mers – which was mostly spread from animals to humans – also seemed to be stronger in cold, dry weather."

Contingency planning for an upsurge in cases begins to emerge. As part of the official action plan being drawn up by ministers and the chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, military medics and British Red Cross and St John Ambulance personnel will be drafted in to help the NHS cope with a major outbreak. Under ministerial planning for a “reasonable worst-case scenario” of a potential pandemic, doctors and nurses working for the armed forces would help at hospitals where staff who have the virus are too ill to work or are self-isolating at home. Source: Online Guardian

The Ireland v Italy men's and women's Six Nations games scheduled for Dublin on 7 and 8 March have been postponed because of the coronavirus.

Breaking news that a case is now confirmed in Sicily. Italy having a rough time . B.

A TENERIFE hotel is on lockdown after an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus. Around 1,000 holidaymakers staying at the hotel are said to have been quarantined inside the complex in the past few hours. Tenerife hotel with 1,000 inside ‘surrounded by quarantine cops’ after Italian tourist tests positive for coronavirus – The Sun WWW.THESUN.CO.UK A TENERIFE hotel is on lockdown after an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus. Around 1,000 holidaymakers staying at the hotel are said to have been...

England in talks with Six Nations as coronavirus puts Italy games in doubt | Sport | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM The RFU is in talks with the Six Nations organisers amid concerns Italy’s games against Ireland and England could be hit by the outbreak

Morning all, Nice to see some folks' snow pics . as I type, it is 2.5 ° C here and the heavy rain turning a bit to sleet. Horrid conditions really. B.

Just back from my dog walk, my word the winds seem strong .. buffeting me off my stride. It'll be interesting to see if its as bad as the recent named storms ? BL

I read scientists saying dogs can't get it .. but they are now taking peoples pet dogs and slaughtering them in the streets. I find that ever so sad. :(

The Covid-19 disease is far deadlier than the normal flu, a study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has found. More than 80 per cent of the cases studied were mild, with severe symptoms such as pneumonia occurring in 14 per cent of them and critical illness in 5 per cent. The fatality rate of 2.3 per cent, which makes it deadlier than the seasonal flu, which typically has a 0.1 per cent mortality rate. Coronavirus far deadlier than normal flu, new figures show as UK wor… WWW.INDEPENDENT.CO.UK The government is “working to organise” a flight back to the UK for British nationals quarantined on board a cruise ship off the coast of Japan over coronavirus fears...

Breaking News : further 88 people test positive on the Diamond Princess ship.

The British couple who have been updating us from the Diamond Princess ship .. "David and Sally Abel, who are on the cruise to celebrate their anniversary, are among the 74 Britons on the ship, with the US already having chartered two two planes and repatriated 340 of its citizens, and now tests have shown they do have the bug. Four Britons with confirmed coronavirus are currently in hospital in Japan, according to the latest official figures." Cruise news: British couple trapped on cruise ship test POSITIVE for Coronavirus | World | News | Express.co.uk WWW.EXPRESS.CO.UK A BRITISH couple quarantined on board the cruise liner Diamond Princess, docked in Yokohama in Japan, DO have coronavirus, tests have confirmed.

Japan is bracing for the possibility of hundreds of additional cases of the coronavirus onboard the stricken Princess Diamond, after health officials said on Monday that a further 99 people on the ship had tested positive. The passengers already evacuated from the ship face further uncertainty too, with the US and Australian citizens set for a further two weeks of quarantine after arriving home. Hundreds of American passengers have flown back to the US and Australia said it would follow suit on Wednesday. The US state department announced later that 14 of the 340 American evacuees were confirmed to have the virus in tests given before they boarded the planes. They were taken to the US because they did not have symptoms and were being isolated from other passengers on the planes, it said. It was not immediately clear whether the 14 were among the 99 new cases. Onboard the Diamond Princess, 454 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 out of an original total of about 3,600 passengers and crew. Japan’s health ministry said it had tested 1,723 people on the vessel. Forty American passengers who were diagnosed with the virus on Sunday have been transferred to hospitals in Japan. Most of the people on the ship, which has the largest number of cases outside China, have yet to be tested. The health ministry will continue to test passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess, whose 14-day quarantine was due to end on Wednesday. Japanese public health experts advising the government defended the decision to isolate passengers and crew on the ship, even as the number of cases increased again on Monday. “Many people are testing positive on the ship, but that is because we are testing everyone onboard, regardless of their medical condition,” said Shigeru Omi, the chief director of the Japan Community Health Care Organisation. “And 70% of those testing positive are not showing any symptoms at all.” Omi said any disruption to this summer’s Tokyo Olympics – including the Games’ cancellation – would depend on how and if the virus mutates in the coming months, as well as the effectiveness of the international community’s attempts to contain the outbreak. “Whether the virus is under control by the time of the Olympics is anyone’s guess,” he said at a media briefing in Tokyo. Omi conceded that tracing the chain of domestic transmissions not related to the Diamond Princes was proving difficult, but denied Japan, which has confirmed 65 cases on land, was becoming a second major infection cluster. “Our focus now is on community-based preventative action to lower the speed of the transmission of the virus,” he said. “It is true that there have been silent transmissions, but Japan is certainly not in a state of pandemic.”

A hotel near Heathrow airport has been closed to the public and designated as a potential coronavirus quarantine centre as health officials prepare for more cases in the UK. The Holiday Inn Heathrow Ariel hotel, on Bath Road, closed on Saturday with staff told it would not re-open for bookings until March at the earliest. Sources told The Independent the hotel has been block booked as a potential quarantine zone for international visitors to the UK who develop coronavirus or for Britons evacuated to the UK from overseas. Guests booked at the hotel, which is operated under franchise from the InterContinental Hotels Group, have been transferred to sister hotels. Heathrow hotel closed and guests removed after health officials desi… WWW.INDEPENDENT.CO.UK A hotel near Heathrow airport has been closed to the public and designated as a potential coronavirus quarantine centre as health officials prepare for more cases in...

Today an additional 99 cases of infection on the Diamond Princess ship. What's going on with the spread there ? I heard a medical prof. yesterday saying he thought it very unlikely it could spread through the ship's air-con. B.

Yes, quite a lively squall here now after a quieter afternoon. BL

HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media WWW.HUFFINGTONPOST.CO.UK Obviously makes sense.

This is what I suggested much earlier in the thread (as far more men smoke than women in China) but GW said I was wrong as the tar helped as a barrier to the lungs .

Yes, yuk CC ! I was pleased to see hand sanitizer at my GP's .. right next to the self log-in screen everyone touches. I waited half an hour for the Doctor and noted I was the only one who made use of it .. amongst dozens of poorly patients.